it v-link ADJ what/how

it v-link ADJ what/how

The adjective group is preceded by introductory it and a link verb, and is followed by a clause beginning with what or how. This clause indicates a thing or situation. In some cases it indicates that something is true to a great extent. For example, It is amazing what can be achieved indicates that 'a lot can be achieved', and it's interesting how unaffected he is indicates that 'he is completely unaffected'.

it

link verb

Adjective group

what/how-clause

It

's

funny

how things work out.

It

's

marvellous

what people can do when they try.

This pattern is used to give a judgement about a thing or situation before mentioning what that thing or situation is. It is particularly frequent in spoken English, and is productive: any adjective which expresses a judgement can be used in this way. We list below the most frequent.Adjectives with this pattern belong to the following meaning groups:The 'fantastic' groupThe 'terrible' groupThe 'amazing' groupThe 'true' group